Saturday, July 21, 2018

#BreakingNews US ProLife Cardinal Urges all to Join in Prayer Campaign for an End to Abortion - Free Resource from Bishops

Chairman of U.S Bishops’ Conference Committee on Pro-Life Activities Calls for National Prayer Effort That Every Human Being is Protected In Law And Welcomed in Life

July 19, 2018

WASHINGTON— Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York and Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a statement today inviting all people of good will to join in a prayer campaign that the change in the U.S. Supreme Court will move our nation closer to the day when every human being is protected in law and welcomed in life.

Cardinal Dolan's full statement follows:

"As soon as Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, pro-abortion groups began lobbying the U.S. Senate to reject any nominee who does not promise to endorse Roe v. Wade. While the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops does not support or oppose the confirmation of any presidential nominee, we can and should raise grave concerns about a confirmation process which is being grossly distorted by efforts to subject judicial nominees to a litmus test of support for Roe v. Wade. And we must pray.

Each Friday, from August 3 - September 28, 2018, I urge all people of good will to join me in prayer that this change in the U.S. Supreme Court will move our nation closer to the day when every human being is protected in law and welcomed in life. The USCCB Call to Prayer network will share prayers and educational resources and an invitation to fast on Fridays for this intention.

May Our Lady of Guadalupe intercede for the healing of our nation and our people from decades of abortion on demand."

FAST

LEARN

Roe and Doe legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Many people don't realize that Roe v. Wade legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. Roe says abortions may not be restricted at all during the first three months and in the second three months may be regulated only for the mother's health.1 After "viability"2 Roe allows abortion to be prohibited but must make an exception for the woman's life or health.3

But in Roe's companion case, Doe v. Bolton, the Court defined "health" to include "all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age—relevant to the well-being" of the mother.4 In most states, that is broad enough to permit virtually any abortion in the seventh, eighth, or ninth months of pregnancy5 if any of these reasons is invoked.6

1 In the first trimester, "the abortion decision ... must be left to the medical judgment of the pregnant woman's attending physician." In the second trimester, the State may "regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health." Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 164 (1973).

2 "[T]hat is, potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid." Roe, 410 U.S., at 160.

3 After viability, the State may "proscribe" abortion "except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother." Roe, 410 U.S., at 164-65.

4Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 192 (1973). The "Doe v. Bolton ... opinion and this one, of course, are to be read together." Roe, 410 U.S., at 165.

5 In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Court abandoned the trimester framework but reaffirmed the legality of abortion "subsequent to viability" for the "preservation of the ... health of the mother." 505 U.S. 833, 879 (1992).

6The Supreme Court, however, has yet to be confronted with a challenge to a post-viability ban that will test Doe's breadth. Indeed, 20 states currently ban late-term abortions subject to a narrow exception for the mother's life or physical health (not for emotional, psychological, familial, or age-related reasons). Most of these laws have gone unchallenged, but they are hard to enforce even if they are constitutionally permissible.